City workers sue Seattle

Alleging wage theft, union workers are pursuing a class action lawsuit over the City’s payroll system covering thousands of employees

SEATTLE, WA (February 14, 2025) — Three unionized workers initiated a class action lawsuit against the City of Seattle for wage theft, over claims arising out of the City’s implementation of a new payroll system. That system, Workday was rolled out in September 2024 for the City’s nearly 14,000 employees.

The workers are Nathaniel Hunter, a member of Professional & Technical Employees Local 17 (PROTEC17) working in the Drainage and Wastewater Department, Travis Stanley, a member of the International Association of Fire Fighters Local 27 (IAFF Local 27), a Firefighter with the Seattle Fire Department, and Aaron Dalan, a member of the Seattle Police Officers Guild (SPOG), a Sergeant with the Seattle Police Department. Their lawsuit is filed on behalf of all City of Seattle employees who have worked under the new payroll system since September.

“One of our core values as a union is to ensure wages are paid properly and on time,” said Karen Estevenin, Executive Director of PROTEC17. “We’ve been working with the City to correct these wage issues for months and too many employees are still left without answers and without correct pay. PROTEC17 supports the action that these City of Seattle employees and union members have taken to correct this injustice and to ensure that everyone – whether in a union or not – is paid correctly for the important work they do.”

The workers allege that for the past five months, the City has routinely issued paychecks and pay statements that are inaccurate, resulting in thousands of employees being underpaid or, at times, not paid at all. In addition, employees are not receiving leave time or benefits they are owed in a timely manner.

Per the coalition of unions representing workers at the City of Seattle, the new payroll system has repeatedly failed to pay for all hours worked, to pay for overtime hours, and to pay correct rates. It also has made incorrect and excessive wage deductions, incorrect leave accruals and deductions, and incorrectly handles deferred compensation. The workers allege that the City knew or should have known that the transition to Workday would likely cause widespread wage violations, as numerous state and local governments have encountered similar problems with Workday over the last several years, including Oregon and Los Angeles.

According to the workers filing the suit, these ongoing payroll problems have caused significant disruption, financial challenges, and stress. On top of considerable financial strain due to not being paid on time or in full, impacted workers have been forced to spend hours identifying and attempting to correct the errors with their paychecks.

City of Seattle workers rallying for a fair contract in 2023. Photo: WSLC

“Seattle Fire Fighters show up to work every day to save lives and property in our City,” said IAFF Local 27 President Kenny Stuart. “We have a dangerous, stressful job and shouldn’t have to worry about paying our bills or supporting our families because of incorrect paychecks and missing benefits. These problems have gone on for too long and they need to be fixed immediately. The City depends on us and we should be able to depend on our paycheck.”

The workers seek to have the City fix or replace the Workday system. They also want an independent accounting of all wages and benefits earned and paid since the system was implemented. Finally, they want to recover all unpaid earned wages along with interest and liquidated damages for the City’s wage theft and leave violations.